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Poloncarz: Watching 'test to stay' closely but not ready to expand

County Executive says pilot program not recommended by the state

Buffalo, NY (WBEN) Just down the New York State Thruway from Buffalo in the Rochester metro area, most schools in Monroe County are participating in a 'test to stay' program that allws unvaccinated students who are exposed to someone with COVID-19 to continue to go to class as long as they test negative daily.

In he Buffalo area, only one school district is actively implementing a 'test to stay' program and Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz is holding off on expanding the offering.


Presently in Erie County, only the Grand Island Schools are taking part in 'test to stay', which began this week.

"The test to stay program is a pilot program that is not recommended by New York State's Department of Health," says Poloncarz, who says he's running it in cooperation with Grand Island to see if it is effective.

Poloncarz says the first day's data showed all tests were negative.

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Poloncarz wants to be sure of two things before expanding the program. "We want to make certain we can work with school districts to do that, but we also want to make sure it is safe," says Poloncarz. He wants to avoid a situation where students who are staying in school who may be COVID positive.

Poloncarz says there's a significant percentage of new COVID cases among children in Erie County, and the highest is among those 14 and older.

The pilot program in Grand Island runs until the end of the month.

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